Full-screen Microsoft 365 trial offer is blocking access to the Windows 10 desktop
Apparently not content with irritating Windows 10 users with a rather deceptive invitation to upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft is also causing annoyance by displaying an unskippable full-screen ad that essentially forces users to install Microsoft 365 Family.
Affected users report that the nag screen is blocking access to the desktop until they agree to start a free trial of Microsoft 365 Family (which most people are still referring to as Office 365). As part of agreeing to the trial, users are asked to provide payment details, and although no charges are made until the end of the trial period, the danger is that some people will forget to cancel and will end up paying.
IT and security pros spend over 4,000 hours a year on compliance
IT and security professionals spend an average of 4,300 hours annually achieving or maintaining compliance, according to a new study.
The survey, from automation platform Drata of 300 IT and security professionals in fast-growing organizations across the US, finds 87 percent of respondents have faced consequences as a result of not having continuous compliance, these include slowed sales cycles, security breaches, business interruption, loss of a business relationship, a damaged reputation, or fines.
Continuous Threat Exposure Management and what it means for enterprise security [Q&A]
This summer, Gartner introduced Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM). This is a set of processes and capabilities that allow organizations to create a system for review of exposures that is faster than the periodic project-based approach.
With endless threats and vulnerabilities hammering today's organizations, exposure management that evaluates the accessibility, exposure and exploitability of all digital and physical assets is necessary to govern and prioritize risk reduction for enterprises.
Microsoft insists that the Office-checking KB5021751 update does not infringe on privacy
In the middle of last month, Microsoft released the KB5021751 update to help the company "identify the number of users running out-of-support (or soon to be out-of-support) versions of Office".
Privacy advocates voiced concern about the update, which Microsoft said "will run one time silently without installing anything on the user's device" because of worries about exactly what the slightly secretive check was doing. Now the company has updated support documentation for the KB5021751 update, insisting that there is nothing nefarious about it.
Microsoft is pestering Windows 10 users with an incredibly deceptive Windows 11 upgrade nag screen
Microsoft is, it seems, at it again. No stranger to irritating ads and nags, the company has been spotted pestering Windows 10 users with a full-screen prompt to upgrade to Windows 11 for free.
If the appearance of an unwanted nag screen was not enough, the upgrade prompt is also rather deceptive, appearing to give users just two choices -- install Windows 11 now, or schedule the installation. It is actually possible to back out of the upgrade, but Microsoft has made it less than obvious.
LibreOffice 7.5 unveils new icons, plus improved PDF export and Bookmarks in Writer
On schedule, The Document Foundation’s open-source, cross-platform office suite gains its first major point release of the year with LibreOffice 7.5. Version 7.5 unveils various design tweaks -- including a new application -- along with another long list of new and improved features right across the suite.
LibreOffice 7.5 opens with some design tweaks -- including "major improvements" to its dark mode support, which basically consist of over 40 bug fixes. There’s also new application and MIME-type icons, described as "more colorful and vibrant".
Organizations need a holistic approach to cyber threats
A new survey of 300 organizations across the US and Europe looks at the key challenges concerning the ability to effectively prioritize and contextualize the large amounts of data organizations get from several cyber security alert systems, as well as identifying the actions needed to meet them.
The survey, conducted for Darktrace by IDC, finds evolving attack vectors make it difficult to prepare proactively, with only 31 percent of respondents highly confident that their tools can continuously adjust to new configurations.
London: The world's leader in AI
It’s not an uncommon view that Silicon Valley is the be-all and end-all of the tech industry. Companies like Facebook and Google give the valley a status in the tech industry that few share.
However, while Silicon Valley still rightly retains its reputation as a center for invention and innovation, London has quietly but confidently become something of a hub for research in AI. This is no accident -- supported by The City’s banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry and the nation's technological heritage, London has become a global hub for AI innovation. It has the right knowledge base and conditions for this to continue long into the future.
Lazarus Group targets medical research and energy
Researchers at WithSecure have uncovered a cyberattack campaign linked back to North Korea's notorious Lazarus Group.
It is extremely rare to be able to link a campaign so strongly to a perpetrator as WithSecure has been able to do here. The Hackers have been targeting medical research and energy organizations with the intent to commit espionage.
Twitter is ending free API access next week, killing off swathes of apps in the process
Having already banned all third-party clients, Twitter has now announced that it is completely dropping free access to its APIs. In an announcement made via the Twitter Dev account, the company says: "Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead".
The move will effectively kill off unknown -- but large -- numbers of apps and tools that depend on the Twitter API. While getting rid of free API access is unlikely to impact larger apps such as Hootsuite, those produced by smaller, independent developers are unlikely to be able to shoulder the costs.
Get 'Full Stack Development with Spring Boot and React -- Third Edition' (worth $37.99) FREE for a limited time
This updated edition of the Full Stack Development with Spring Boot 2 and React book will take you from novice to proficient in this expansive domain.
Taking a practical approach, this book will first walk you through the latest Spring Boot features for creating a robust backend, covering everything from setting up the environment and dependency injection to security and testing.
Netflix hides information about account sharing crackdown after details were spotted in its Help Center
It has been known for some time that Netflix intends to take steps to prevent subscribers from sharing their account with anyone from outside their household. Since the inception of Netflix, password sharing has been a common practice, so the company's action will impact large numbers of people.
Details about just how it will stop people from sharing their account password with others have not been forthcoming, but in a newly-removed Help Center page the approach that will be taken has been exposed. Although the revealing page has now been taken down, it has been recorded for posterity by the Internet Archive.
Microsoft releases PowerToys v0.67.0 with new quick access system tray launcher utility!
Microsoft has updated the PowerToys utility collection, adding the first new module of 2023. Although there have been various updates for PowerToys over the last few months, and we've heard about upcoming new features such as Mouse Jump, it is a while since we've had new toys to play with.
But this changes with the release of PowerToys v0.67.0 which sees the addition of the quick access system tray launcher which we first heard about late last year. A new taskbar menu provides easy access to your favorite PowerToys tools and settings, without the need to navigate through the main app interface.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25290 with new Spotify and Phone Link widgets
Microsoft today stops selling Windows 10, instead redirecting would-be purchasers towards Windows 11. There are ways around this however.
For Windows 11 testers in the Dev Channel, Microsoft has released a new build, and this one is available for Arm64 devices. Last week’s flight (Build 25284) was blocked due to a known issue that resulted in devices getting stuck at the OS boot logo.
YEYIAN launches 34-inch Ultrawide 2K SIGURD 4000 curved gaming monitor
Curved televisions are gimmicky and an overall bad idea. I bought a curved 4K TV several years ago, and while I do like it overall, it has a big negative -- it shows a lot of glare when the sun comes through the windows. Ultimately, the curved aspect doesn't seem to provide much (if any) value over a flat set when sitting on my couch
Where curved displays are wonderful, however, is for computer monitors. When you are sitting closer to a display, such as at a desk, it provides a more immersive experience -- particularly for gaming. Today, YEYIAN unveils its latest curved display. The 34-inch "Sigurd 4000," as it is called, features a 3440x1440 resolution, wide 21:9 aspect ratio, and one millisecond response time.
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